Which C.S. Lewis novel retells the Cupid and Psyche myth through the character Orual?

Till We Have Faces retells the Cupid and Psyche myth through the character Orual. C.S. Lewis published the novel in 1956, and it was his final completed work of fiction.

The story is set in the fictional ancient kingdom of Glome. Orual, the eldest princess, narrates a life shaped by family conflict, political responsibility, jealousy, and religious uncertainty. The mythic structure draws on the ancient story of Cupid and Psyche, but Lewis gives the narrative a psychologically complex first-person voice.

The title comes from the novel’s concern with identity, self-knowledge, and the masks people present to one another. Orual’s understanding changes as she confronts the consequences of her love and possessiveness.

The book is sometimes overlooked beside the Narnia novels and Lewis’s apologetic works. It is substantially darker and more adult in tone, and Lewis considered it one of his strongest literary achievements. Its subtitle, A Myth Retold, directly signals its relationship to the classical source.